JPS6228271B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a device for automatically and reliably closing the door of an automobile or other vehicle.

[Conventional technology]

When closing a conventional car door, the weather strip reaction force, lock resistance, air resistance, hinge resistance, etc. act on the door lock just before the door is fully opened. or must be closed with considerable force. However, if you close the door forcefully, the door and car body will be subject to impact, which will have a negative impact and cause
It produced an impact sound, making people around it feel uncomfortable.

In addition, in automatic door opening/closing devices that automatically open and close automobile doors using a drive means such as a motor, the door is opened and closed near the hinge of the door, so the door is opened and closed immediately before the door is fully opened. This requires a considerable amount of force, and a large amount of force is applied to the door and center pillar on the vehicle body side, which may cause the door and center pillar to deform.

An automatic closing device for doors and the like that takes these points into consideration is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-98391.

This conventional device forcibly rotates the latch in the door lock from the half-latched position to the full-latched position using a drive means such as a motor, from the so-called ajar state in which the door is most difficult to close due to the reaction force of the weather strip. By doing so, the striker on the vehicle body side that engages with the latch can be drawn toward the door, and the door can be reliably closed.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In the conventional device as described above, the actuating member for forcibly rotating the latch by the rotational force of the motor was always engaged with the latch, so when the door lock was manually released, the latch would not move. It becomes impossible to rotate to return, or it becomes difficult to return.
To prevent manual operation from becoming impossible, the actuating member may be returned to its original position with a spring after the door is automatically closed, or the link between the actuating member and the rotation shaft of the motor may be changed. In order to disconnect, an intermittent mechanism was installed.

However, since the rotating shaft of the motor is decelerated and linked to the operating member, if a spring or the like is used to return the operating member, a fairly strong spring is required; conversely, if a strong spring is used, There is a problem in that when the latch is forcibly rotated, the driving force by the motor is weakened.

Therefore, it is preferable to provide the above-mentioned disconnection mechanism, but if such a disconnection mechanism is provided, another problem arises in that the entire device becomes complicated, large-sized, and expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic door closing device for an automobile or the like that solves these problems.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention includes a striker fixed to the vehicle body side;
A latch is pivotally mounted on the door side and has an engagement groove on its outer periphery that can be engaged with and disengaged from the striker, and the latch has an open position where it waits for relative entry of the striker and a latch that is just barely connected to the striker. The door can be rotated between a half-latched position where the door is engaged and a full-latched position where the door is locked in the closed state by fully engaging the striker and being prevented from rotating toward the open position by the locking means. An automatic door closing device for a door of an automobile or the like, which is equipped with a lock that rotates, the latch comprising: a crank arm pivotally installed in the door; a rotating means provided in the door for rotating the crank arm; and a latch. The latch is provided on the door lock so as to be movable back and forth between a retracted position and an operating position without interfering with the rotation of the latch, and the latch is forced from at least a half-latched position to a full-latched position while moving from the retracted position to the activated position. The actuating member is rotated approximately half a turn from the top dead center of the crank arm to the bottom dead center, and the actuating member is moved from the retracted position to the actuating position, and the crank arm is moved from the bottom dead center to the top dead center. The crank arm and the actuating member are characterized by comprising a linkage mechanism that links the crank arm and the actuating member to each other so that the actuating member moves from the actuating position to the retracted position by approximately half a rotation up to a point.

[Effect]

According to the automatic closing position of a door of an automobile, etc. of the present invention, the operating member is moved from the retracted position to the operating position by approximately half a rotation from the first top dead center to the bottom dead center in one rotation of the crank arm. At this time, the movement of the actuating member forces the latch to rotate to the fully latched position, and the striker is drawn toward the door, thereby reliably closing the door. Approximately half a rotation from bottom dead center to top dead center causes the actuating member to return to the retracted position, and thereafter the actuating member does not impede rotation of the latch during manual operation of the door lock.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

In Figure 1, 1 is the rear door of the car;
The front end portion is pivotally connected to a vehicle body (not shown) with a pair of upper and lower door hinges 2.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, a door lock 3 is provided at the free end of the door 1. As shown in FIGS. This door lock 3 is configured such that the door can be opened and closed by a latch 7 pivotally mounted within the door lock body 6 disengaging from and engaging with a striker 5 fixed to a side rear frame 4 of the vehicle body. .

As shown in FIG. 4, the latch 7 is cut into a U-shape from the periphery toward the center of rotation, and a striker 5 relatively enters into the door lock body 6 when the door 1 is closed. door 1
Engagement groove 7 from which the striker 5 separates when opening
It has a.

As shown in FIG. 5, the latch 7 has an engaging groove 7a.
the opening of which faces the direction in which the striker 5 enters,
There is an open position where the striker 5 waits for relative entry, a half latch position where the striker 5 barely engages with the engagement groove 7a as shown in FIG. 6, and a half latch position where the striker 5 barely engages as shown in FIG. The striker 5 is restrained by completely engaging to the deep part of the matching groove 7a and being prevented from rotating toward the open position by the pawl 34, which is a locking means, and the door 1 is brought to the fully closed position. It can be pivoted to a fully latched position.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a motor fixedly installed inside the door 1, and its rotating shaft 8a is connected to an input shaft 10 of a speed reducer 9 with a switch device fixedly installed inside the door 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, the decelerator 9 is
A worm 11 fixed to the middle of the input shaft 10,
Worm wheel 1 that meshes with this worm 11
2, fixed to the center of the worm wheel 12,
and an output shaft 13 protruding toward one side of the reducer 9
and a switch device 14.

The switch device 14 includes a disk-shaped substrate 15 fixed to the worm wheel 12, and a substantially disk-shaped substrate 15 fixed to the center of the outer surface of the substrate 15 and having a fan-shaped notch 16a formed in a part of the outer periphery. It consists of a shaped conductor plate 16, a fan-shaped conductor plate 17 fixed to the substrate 15 in such a manner that it fits into the notch 16a with a required gap, and two brushes 18 and 19. During a certain rotation period of the substrate 15, both brushes 18 and 19 simultaneously contact the conductor plate 17, and at other rotation periods, only the brush near the output shaft 13 contacts the conductor plate 16. These electrical connection relationships will be described later.

A base portion of a crank arm 20 is fixed to a protruding end portion of the output shaft 13 that protrudes laterally from the decelerator 9 .

The positional relationship between the crank arm 20 and the conductor plates 16 and 17 fixed to the board 15 is as follows.
7 comes into contact with both brushes 18 and 19, the crank arm 20 is positioned at the top dead center as shown in FIG.

Further, the motor 8 and the speed reducer 9 form a rotating means for rotating the crank arm 20.

A connecting rod 2 is attached to the free end of the crank arm 20.
One end of 1 is pivotally connected, and this continuous rod 21
The other end is pivotally connected to the lower end of a bell crank 23 which is pivotally connected to the base plate 22 of the door lock body 6.

The lower end of a vertically extending connecting rod 24 is pivotally attached to the free end of the arm of the bell crank 23 facing rearward.

The upper end of the connecting rod 24 connects a shaft 27 to the free end of a rotary lever 26, which is an actuating member and whose base portion is pivotably connected to a shaft 25 which is fitted in a manner that it cannot rotate relative to the latch 7. It is also pivoted.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, the rotating lever 26 has two positions: a retracted position where it does not hinder the reciprocating rotation of the latch 7 from the open position to the fully latched position, and a seventh position where the latch 7 functions as described below. It is rotatable about a shaft 25 to an operating position as shown in the figure.

Further, the rotating lever 26 is connected to the above-mentioned connecting rod 2.
1. A linkage mechanism A consisting of a bell crank 23, a connecting rod 24, etc.
The crank arm 20 is rotated from the retracted position to the operating position by approximately half a turn from the top dead center to the bottom dead center, which is approximately 180 degrees from the top dead center as shown in the figure. It is linked to the crank arm 20 so that it can be returned from the operating position to the retracted position by approximately half a turn up to the point.

As clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 to 7, a protruding piece 26 facing rearward is formed on the outer periphery of the base of the rotating lever 26. As shown in FIGS.

A cam 28 is fitted to the shaft 25 so as not to be relatively rotatable, and is designed to rotate integrally with the clutch 7 via the shaft 25. The circumferential edge of the cam 28 includes an arc-shaped first cam surface 28a that protrudes slightly outward from another circumferential edge, and a first cam surface 28a that is continuous with the first cam surface 28a and further protrudes outward from the first cam surface 28a. Arc-shaped second cam surface 28b and second cam surface 2
A step portion 28c continuous to 8b is formed.

The stepped portion 28c moves the rotary lever 26 only when the rotary lever 26 rotates counterclockwise from the retracted position toward the operating position in FIGS. 2 and 6, etc.
The latch 7 is brought into contact with the protrusion 26a of the latch 7, and as the rotary lever 26 is rotated, the latch 7 is rotated to the fully latched position shown in FIG.

An open lever 35 fixed on a shaft 34a of the pawl 34 is operated in conjunction with an opening operation of an operating handle (not shown) disposed inside or outside the vehicle interior or an opening operation of an automatic door opening/closing device (not shown). , by rotating in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 7, it is rotated in the same direction to release the engagement with the latch 7 and enable the door 1 to be opened.

The first cam surface 28a rotates counterclockwise when the door 1 closes to a so-called ajar state, the striker 5 abuts the latch 7, and the latch 7 moves from the open position shown in FIG. 5 to the half-latched position shown in FIG. When rotated, the base plate 22 of the door lock body 6
The limit switch 29 is arranged in such a manner that it comes into contact with the limit switch 29 fixed to the holder to operate the limit switch 29.

The second cam surface 28b is arranged in such a manner that when the latch 7 reaches a suitable intermediate position between the half-latched position and the full-latched position, it abuts against a limit switch 30 fixed to the base plate 22, thereby activating the limit switch 30. It is as follows.

FIG. 9 shows an example of an electrical circuit for operating the embodiment described above.

Reference numerals 31 and 32 are main switches provided, for example, in the driver's seat of an automobile, which can be switched between the open side (Open) and the closed door side (Close) in conjunction with each other.

Note that a circuit for operating an automatic door closing device for automatically opening the door 1 is connected to the open side (Open) contacts of the main switches 31 and 32, but this is not directly related to the present invention. Since this is not relevant, illustration is omitted.

Reference numeral 33 denotes a switch that is closed in conjunction with the main switches 31 and 32 only when the main switches 31 and 32 are switched to the closed door side (Close).

Reference numerals 8, 14, 29, 30, etc. electrically indicate the motor 8, switch device 14, limit switches 29, 30, etc. in the above-described embodiment.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of the present invention will be explained based on FIG.

With the main switches 31 and 32 switched to the closed side (Close), the door 1 is closed to the ajar state by manual operation or an automatic door opening/closing device other than the present invention, and the latch 7 is moved to the half-latched position by the striker 5. When the limit switch 29 is moved to this point, the limit switch 29 is activated and closed, and the power supply main switch 32 is turned off.
Limit switch 29 - Switch 33 (closed at the same time as the main switches 31 and 32 are switched to the closed door side (Close)) - Motor 8 - Limit switch 3
0 (at this time, it has been switched to the main switch 31 side) - The motor 8 is energized by the closed circuit of the main switch 31 - power supply, and its rotating shaft 8a begins to rotate.

Simultaneously with the operation of the motor 8, the crank arm 20
begins to rotate from the top dead center toward the bottom dead center, the rotating lever 26 is rotated from the retracted position toward the operating position, and from the middle of this rotation, the latch 7, together with the cam 28, is rotated from the half-latched position to the full-latched position. can be rotated.

Simultaneously with the rotation of the crank arm 20, the substrate 15 in the switch device 14 also begins to rotate, the brush 18 comes into contact with the conductor plate 16, and the brush 19 separates from the conductor plate 17 and becomes non-contact.

When the latch 7 reaches a suitable intermediate position between the half-latched position and the full-latched position, the limit switch 30 is actuated and switched to the switching device 14.

With this, the limit switch 30
The circuit that had reached the power source through the main switch 31 is switched to a circuit consisting of the limit switch 30, the brush 18, the conductive plate 16, the main switch 31, and the power source. However, the rotation of the crank arm 20 continues, the latch 7 is gradually moved toward the fully latched position, and the striker 5 engaged with the latch 7 is drawn toward the door, so that the door 1 is relatively closed. It will be done.

After the latch 7 reaches the fully latched position, while the crank arm 20 rotates the second half of the cycle from the bottom dead center to the top dead center, the rotary lever 26 is moved to the seventh position.
It is rotated back clockwise from the operating position shown in the figure and returns to the retracted position shown in FIG. When the rotating lever 26 is rotated back, the cam 28 and the latch 7
is not driven and the latch 7 is maintained in the fully latched position engaged with the pawl 34.

When the crank arm 20 and the board 15 complete the second half cycle and return to their original positions, the brush 1
8 is separated from the conductor plate 16 and the circuit to the power source is opened. Thereafter, the brushes 18 and 19 immediately come into contact with the conductive plate 17 at the same time, causing a short circuit, and the motor 4 suddenly stops due to this short circuit.

The feature of this circuit is that the crank arm 20 is made to rotate exactly once by one door closing command, and that the crank arm 20
The reason lies in the fact that it is made to suddenly stop at a fixed position.

To open the door 1, either switch the main switches 31 and 32 to the open side (Open), or manually operate the operating handles inside and outside the vehicle, and press the open lever 3.
5 to release the engagement between the pawl 34 and the latch 7. Then, the latch 7 is free to rotate clockwise from the fully latched position shown in FIG.
The striker 5 can disengage from the latch 7 and open the door 1. At this time, as the latch 7 rotates, the cam 28 also rotates, but since the rotation lever 26 always returns to the retracted position shown in FIG. 5, the clockwise rotation of the cam 28 is not blocked, rotates smoothly, and does not affect the opening operation of the door 1 in any way.

Since this embodiment has the above-mentioned structure, the range from the half latch position to the full latch position, which is the most difficult to close due to weather strip reaction force and locking resistance, is replaced by the range farthest from the door hinge. The door can be easily and reliably closed from the door lock side.

Therefore, there is no need to forcefully close the door as in the conventional case, and there is no need to use a powerful motor in the automatic door opening/closing device.

Note that the present invention is not limited only to the above-described embodiments, and for example, the above-described rotary lever 26
A shaft 25 is fixed to the shaft 25 so as to rotate integrally with the latch 7, and a shaft 27 that connects the connecting rod 24 and the rotary lever 26 is bored in the rotary lever 26.
It may be made to be able to slide along an arcuate long hole (not shown) centered at .

In this way, during the latter half cycle of the crank arm 20, the shaft 27 slides along the elongated hole,
There is play between the connecting rod 24 and the pivot lever 26, which allows the crank arm 20 to return to its home position.

In this case, the shaft 27 is movable between a retracted position and an activated position that do not impede the rotation of the latch 7, and forces the latch 7 from at least a half-latched position to a fully-latched position while moving from the retracted position to the activated position. It becomes an operating member that rotates.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, in the first half cycle of one revolution of the crank arm,
The actuating member is moved from the retracted position to the actuated position, the latch is forcibly rotated from the half-latched position to the fully-latched position, the striker is pulled in, and the door is forcibly closed. Since the actuating member is returned to a retracted position where it does not interfere with the rotation of the latch, there is no need to separately provide a complicated means for returning the actuating member to its original position, unlike in conventional devices, and the structure can be simplified. It has the advantage that it can be simplified, there is no unnecessary load on the rotating means due to springs, etc., and it can respond immediately to the next door closing command.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing an example of an automobile door equipped with the device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of the door lock shown in FIG. The figure is a front view of Figure 2 seen from the right side, Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the shaft of the latch shown in Figure 2,
Figures 5, 6, and 7 are for explaining the operation of the rotating lever and the cam. Figure 5 shows the door in the open state, and Figure 6 shows the half-latched state. 7 is a diagram showing a fully latch state, FIG. 8 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional front view of the decelerator shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the rotation system of the device of the present invention. . A... Linkage mechanism, 1... Door, 3... Door lock, 5... Striker, 6... Door lock body,
7...Latch, 8...Motor, 9...Decelerator, 1
0...Switch device, 20...Crank arm,
26... Rotating lever (operating member), 28... Cam.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A striker fixed to the vehicle body side, and a latch pivotally attached to the door side and having an engagement groove on the outer periphery that can engage and disengage the striker, the latch an open position where the striker waits for relative entry; a half-latched position where the striker is barely engaged; and a half-latched position where the striker is fully engaged and rotation toward the open position is prevented by the locking means. An automatic closing device for doors of automobiles, etc., which is equipped with a door that can be rotated between a fully latch position and a fully latch position that locks the door in a closed state, the door being equipped with a crank arm that is pivotally installed in the door, and a crank arm that is pivotally installed in the door. a rotating means for rotating the crank arm; and a rotating means for rotating the crank arm; and a rotating means for rotating the crank arm; an actuating member forcibly rotating said latch from at least a half-latched position to a fully-latched position during movement; and approximately half a rotation of said crank arm from top dead center to bottom dead center causes said actuating member to move from a retracted position. The crank arm and the actuating member are coupled to each other such that the crank arm and the actuating member are moved to the actuating position and the actuating member is moved from the actuating position to the retracted position by approximately half a rotation of the crank arm from the bottom dead center to the top dead center. An automatic closing device for a door of an automobile, etc., characterized by comprising a linkage mechanism. 2. A rotating lever in which the actuating member is pivotally fitted to the pivot of the latch so as to be rotatable relative to the latch, and which indirectly rotates the latch by rotating a cam integrated with the latch at one side edge. An automatic door closing device for an automobile or the like as set forth in claim 1.